


In A Thousand Universes

by assortedfruitsnacks212



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bad Boy Ben, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Ben mourns his father, Dark Rey, Didn't Know They Were Dating, Empress Rey, F/M, Hux is a kicked dog, Kylo Ren Redemption, Kylo Ren is Not Nice, Lover's Quarrel, Mentioned Han Solo, Not Canon Compliant, Poor Hux, Protective Kylo Ren, Redeemed Ben Solo, Rey isn't nice either, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, Unresolved Sexual Tension, i will try to tag everything tho, prompt fills, seriously this series goes all over the place, will they or won't they
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-05-01 22:57:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14531184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/assortedfruitsnacks212/pseuds/assortedfruitsnacks212
Summary: Prompt fills and ficlets galore, all centered around Reylo. Rating changes from chapter to chapter! I'll include ratings in the title as well as a general summary of the fic.1 - If the Empress Is So Wise [rated T]: Hux says something less than respectful to Empress Rey. Supreme Leader Kylo Ren doesn't take too kindly to that.2 - Winter Is Over [rated G]: Two years after the events of The Last Jedi, Rey finds Ben mourning at the grave of his father. A quiet moment of forgiveness and redemption.3 - Better Than Expected [rated T]: Modern AU with Bad Boy Ben. Rey and Ben are kind of together, kind of not. And now Rey is pissed because she saw Ben kissing another girl in a bar. Ben knows they have a problem, and he’s raced to her apartment to try to talk…





	1. If the Empress Is So Wise [Empress Rey - rated T]

**Author's Note:**

> From an anonymous prompt: “Did you really just threaten my wife/husband (your choice of Rey or Ben getting threatened) in my presence?”

“If the Empress is so wise, perhaps we should send _you_ to the Yuuzhan Vong.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Hux knew he’d made a mistake.

Such lapses in judgment were rare for him. He’d simply been infuriated with the Supreme Empress, with her unparalleled power to bend the Emperor to her will. Just now, she’d contradicted Hux yet again - offering her own suggestion for how to deal with the Yuuzhan Vong - and of course, the Emperor had listened to her instead. It was humiliating, this sense of having fallen down the ladder… of having been _pushed down_ … by a scavenger rat with a Jakku drawl.

How dare she outdo him, when he had strategized and sacrificed so much for so long? How dare she look at him as if he were beneath her?

Her mere presence on that throne was an insult.

But Supreme Leader Kylo Ren saw none of that. He only heard the menacing undertone in Hux’s voice. Instantly, the Supreme Leader was on his feet, and his lightsaber sprang to life in his hand.

“Did you really just threaten my wife in my presence?”

His voice was cold, his face hard. As he advanced down the steps, Hux swallowed and clenched his fists behind his back, trying not to stare at the sizzling blade of energy.

“F-forgive me… Supreme Leader,” he said. “It will not happen again.”

Then Ren was there, right in front of him, and Hux’s mouth went bone dry. Though Ren’s expression was flat, his skin was paler than Hux had ever seen it, and his eyes bored into Hux like black diamondium drills. Hux had never seen the Supreme Leader look like this, even in his most enraged moments.

No… this was something beyond rage.

Suddenly, Hux feared for his life.

Ren’s nostrils flared. He moved closer until he was a single pace away, his lightsaber dangling casually to the side. Hux glanced at the blade despite himself. Any second now, he expected to find it buried in his gut, searing a hole through his insides.

Ren leaned forward slowly. As Hux kept his gaze averted, Ren spoke quietly past his shoulder.

“You should be _thanking_ the Supreme Empress, General Hux,” he said, every word dark and measured. “If it wasn’t for her… your head would be rotting on a pike beneath my throne.”

Chills cascaded down Hux’s spine. When Ren turned and retreated, he stole a quiet breath, his fists clenching and unclenching behind his back.

That was the closest he’d come to death. He knew it without question.

Then, as Ren ascended to his throne, Hux caught the Empress’s eye… and his mind went blank.

She was staring at him. In itself, that wasn’t surprising; they’d had many silent standoffs since her marriage to Ren. But this time, she looked different. Wolfish, with eyes like black holes and pearly white teeth peeking through her lips.

In that moment, Hux knew who really ruled the galaxy.

He’d never felt so afraid.


	2. Winter Is Over [Kylo Ren's Redemption - rated G]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From an anonymous prompt: "I didn't expect to find you here."

When Rey saw him standing in front of Han Solo’s memorial marker, she ducked behind a tree, heart pounding.

The original marker - a humble thing - had been lost in the destruction of the Rebel base on D'Qar. This one, its equally humble replacement, had never been advertised beyond a small circle of Han’s friends and family. And it had _never_ been advertised to the Supreme Leader of the First Order.

So why was he here alone? Why was he getting down on one knee?

And why was he bowing his head, as if he were grieving?

The sight made Rey ache with compassion, but she hesitated. She had no idea what Kylo thought of her now. It had been years since they’d even spoken, much less bared their hearts to each other, and their bond had grown dusty and gray with disuse.

Then the ache grew too strong to deny. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out from her hiding place. As she approached him from behind, he stiffened, sensing her presence.

She stopped a few paces away. “I didn’t expect to find you here,” she said softly.

He stayed silent. He didn’t even look at her, and she realized he’d probably been weeping. She longed to hug him, to help him through his grief, but she stayed back. What if her comfort wasn’t welcome?

Feeling cold suddenly, she wrapped her arms around herself. “How did you find this place?”

He didn’t answer at first. When he finally did, his voice sounded different than she remembered. It was lackluster - as gray as their bond.

“I’ve seen it,” he said. “In my dreams.”

She sensed he was telling the truth. Her sadness grew, and she moved closer, taking another step, then another, until she was directly behind his shoulder. He stiffened again, more than before, but she ignored it. He’d just have to get used to her.

“I know you didn’t know this,” she said, “but…if you’d ever asked where his grave is…I would’ve told you.”

He looked down at the ground. “I didn’t want to know.”

_Not until yesterday._

The whisper through their bond made her heart skip a beat. It was like seeing a lover in a crowd, or spotting an oasis in the desert. Blinking hard, she walked around him, hungry to see his face. When she saw it - for the first time in two years - and his red-rimmed eyes met hers, warmth rose inside her. Had it been any other occasion, she would’ve smiled.

_I’ve missed you. Force, I’ve missed you so much._

“It’s good to see you, Ben,” she said quietly.

He studied her. She could’ve sworn his bottom lip trembled.

“After everything that’s happened between us,” he said, “you don’t want to kill me?”

“Never.” She knelt in front of him. “I just want you to come back. Find peace.”

_And I want you to be with me._

He jerked and looked away like he’d been pricked. The sight made her mouth go dry. Had he heard her through the bond, too? Did he know how much she longed for him?

He shook his head. “There is no peace,” he said brokenly, and she recognized it as a quote from the Sith Code. “Rey… I can never come back from this. You should leave… forget you ever knew me.”

His words shocked her, not just with the utter self-hatred they expressed, but with the suggestion that she could ever forget the man she loved. Shock turned to anger, and anger drove her to her feet.

“You… you frelling _nerf-herder_!” she yelled.

He looked at her in surprise, but she didn’t stop for a second.

“You think your father wants you to wallow in this? Yes, what you did was terrible. We all know it. But he forgave you as soon as it happened. He’d want you to come back. As do we all.”

His eyes darkened with skepticism. Infuriated, Rey knelt again and took his face in her hands.

“Listen to me, Ben. You have to let go. You want to come back, I can feel it. But the only person holding you back is you.”

She ran her hands through his hair. He watched her mutely, as if he couldn’t comprehend her touch.

“If you can’t do it for yourself,” she said, “do it for me. Because…” She swallowed. “Because I love you.”

It was the first time she’d ever said it out loud. His shock was palpable, and the sudden churning of his emotions whipped their bond into a frenzy. Terrified that he would reject her, she leaned in and kissed him. She poured everything into it: her desperation, her longing, her fear that they would never truly be together.

Then she gathered him into a fierce hug, tears stinging her eyes.

This was a crucial moment, she felt. A moment as imbued with significance as his offer in the throne room.

And this time, she felt his life was at stake.

 _Please_ , she said through their bond. _Please_.

For an eternal moment she was hugging stone, unmoving, unyielding. Gradually, hope gave way to despair, and she began to wonder if her fears were right after all - if this was, in fact, an impossible dream, and she would spend the rest of her life thinking of this day as the day she _almost_ saved him.

Then something stirred inside her. A whisper, a stray trace of light, coming to her through the bond…

…followed by the feel of his arms curling around her back, and his face burrowing into her neck.

With his touch, the bond exploded into a riot of color. Blue like the ocean, green like the islands of Ahch-To, red and gold like a binary sunset. Voices flooded her, every one of them his voice, saying the things he’d always wanted to say.

 _I’m so sorry._  
 _Thank you._  
 _I love you._  
 _I **love** you_.

Rey began to cry. She quickly realized he was crying too, his tears streaming down her neck like rivers of snowmelt. Overwhelmed, she took a breath, and her breath turned into a laugh - a sound of pure joy coming from deep within.

The winter of Kylo Ren’s life was over.

The spring of Ben Solo’s was just beginning.


	3. Better than Expected [Modern AU/Bad Boy Ben - rated T]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Picture this: a modern AU with Bad Boy Ben. Rey and Ben are kind of together, kind of not. And now Rey is pissed because she saw Ben kissing another girl in a bar. Ben knows they have a problem, and he’s raced to her apartment to try to talk…

“ _Fuck_ you!”

She tries slamming the door, but he catches it with his arm.

“Don’t slam the fucking door on me!” he snaps.

“It’s my door - I’ll slam it on whoever I want!”

She tries again. This time when he catches the door, it hits his elbow, and pain lances up his arm.

“Agh - fuck!” He cups his elbow with his other hand. “Just - do you want me or not?”

“What?”

“Don’t play innocent with me. One second you’re snogging me in a car, the next you’re–” He gestures at…well, everything.

“You mean you can’t think of _one_ reason I wouldn’t want you? Your ego never ceases to amaze.”

Again she tries to slam the door. He catches it with his other arm.

“Look, _stop_. Just _stop_.” He holds the door and stares at her. His expression softens. “I want to talk about this. Like adults. Can I come in?”

“Like adults? That’s rich coming from you."

Despite her words, she backs away, leaving the door open. As she turns to stomp to the kitchen, he walks in after her. "Thanks,” he says dryly.

Her only response is two middle fingers raised high.

This is going better than he expected.

He closes the door softly behind him, as if any noise louder than a click would make things worse. Still rubbing his elbow, he wanders around the living room, pretending not to hear as Rey opens and slams cabinet doors. Getting a drink, if he had to guess.

When he hears her filling a glass with ice, he smirks. _Nailed it_. Moments later, she stomps into the living room with a tumbler full of whiskey.

“Alright, you want to talk?” She points angrily to the couch. “Fucking _talk_.”

“Oh, I will.”

He saunters over to the couch and collapses into it. He’s tempted to splay out in challenge - _look at how relaxed I am_ \- but instead he folds his arms and plants his feet firmly on the floor. His knee starts bouncing, but he makes no attempt to stop it. This nervous energy’s gotta go somewhere.

“You. Fucking. Lied,” he says.

“What? I did not!"

"Did too. You said you didn’t care what I do. Then you see me kissing some chick in a bar and you fucking lose it.”

“You practically had your tongue down her throat!”

“And that fucking _matters_ to you?”

“Yes! Jesus Christ, Ben! I…”

She breaks off and turns away. The ice in her drink clinks, and it’s the only sound in the room. When the seconds drag on and she says nothing, Ben raises his eyebrows.

“You…what?”

She sighs, but she refuses to look at him. “When I said I don’t care, I didn’t mean…” She swallows. Her voice gets quiet. “I didn’t mean it that way.”

“Oh really?” Well, this was a revelation. “Then how did you mean it, exactly?”

“I meant I don’t want you to see me as… some fucking needy… _girl!_ " Her eyes shoot back to him, and they’re rimmed in red. "I don’t need to be rescued, I don’t want to be rescued, and I sure as hell don’t want it from _you_.”

That stings, but he ignores it. “So what _do_ you want? Hm?” He spreads out his hands. “Lay it on me.”

She stares at him like she’s aching to cut off his head. She hasn’t taken a sip of her drink yet, he realizes. Did she really need it, or did she just need to put something between them - even if it’s a glass smaller than his hand?

“I want,” she hisses, “to know if you can do this. If I told you I liked you and wanted you all to myself… could you fucking handle it?”

Ben returns her stare, blinking. The silence stretches on as he tries, and fails, to form words. He doesn’t even have the breath for it. It left him completely, sucked out by her confession.

“You like me?” he says finally.

“Yeah.” She smiles a little. “Hell yeah. I mean… you’re not the type I usually go for, but… dammit, you’re amazing, Ben. I’ve never met anyone like you.”

He can’t help it - the little boy inside him has to be sure. “Anyone?” he echoes.

“Anyone.”

And again, silence falls. Ben blinks at her some more, then crosses his arms, cocks his head, and looks down at the carpet. As he stares at it, searching for answers, he notices for the first time how plush and green it is. Huh. Green - she _would_ choose green.

“Well…” he says quietly. He hopes more words will follow. They don’t.

“Well,” she says just as quietly.

More silence. It gets under his skin and makes him itch. Suddenly he can’t sit anymore. He leaps to his feet and starts pacing.

“Can I, uh…can I have a drink too?” he asks.

“Yeah. Whiskey?”

“Yup.”

She heads for the kitchen. Blowing out a breath, he runs a hand through his hair as he keeps pacing, trying to ignore the incessant churning in his stomach.

This is going _way_ better than he expected.

In fact…he wishes it would go a little worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm probably gonna continue this...and add smut ;)


End file.
